Caribbean cuisine & foodways

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02/11/26

 

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02/04/26

JFKIAT Celebrates the Opening of Two New Local Businesses

Villa Russo Café and Brooklyn Tea & Market represent the first wave of partnerships that HMSHost has formed with selected local businesses.

metroairportnews.com

Your expansion into JFK Airport is a major milestone. Can you take us behind the scenes of how that opportunity unfolded and what restaurants should know about navigating airport concessions?


Our path to JFK truly felt serendipitous. A fellow small business owner, whom we affectionately call a “business cousin,” invited us to attend an Airport Concessionaires Information Session at a community college in Queens. It was similar to a job fair, but instead of job seekers, the room was filled with small businesses and representatives from the large operators that run airport concessions. While most attendees headed to the main hall for a formal presentation, we felt compelled to stay behind and speak with one additional representative. That conversation became the turning point. That was when we quickly discovered that the book we were reading at the time, “Unreasonable Hospitality,” was also a favorite of the representative from HMSHost, one of the world’s largest concession operators. That shared language around service, intention, and care immediately created a connection.


At the time, HMSHost was seeking locally owned businesses to represent each borough as part of a new “local for local” concept launching in JFK Terminal 4. Our name, our commitment to building a values-driven company, and the simple coincidence of reading the right book at the right moment helped us stand out among hundreds of businesses vying for attention.


A few months later, we received an email offering us a licensing deal for the Brooklyn Tea and Market concept. We are excited because this month, that journey comes full circle with a ribbon cutting at JFK, marking a milestone that began with a conversation, curiosity, and the willingness to stay in the room just a little longer.


When entering the licensing deal with HMSHost at JFK, what truly makes a licensing deal a good one for a local business, and what should you look for when choosing a licensing deal?


We chose a licensing deal because it offered the lowest barrier to entry into a highly complex and capital-intensive environment. Airports operate very differently from traditional retail, and licensing allowed us to enter the space without overextending our team or balance sheet before fully understanding those dynamics. The structure is similar to a franchise agreement, where HMSHost’s operational expertise, infrastructure, and airport-specific systems pair with our brand positioning, hospitality standards, and high-quality product. That division of responsibility was critical. HMSHost manages the operational execution, compliance, staffing, and logistics, while we remain focused on protecting the integrity of the Brooklyn Tea brand, the guest experience, and the product itself. Financially, the model made sense. Airport buildouts and ongoing operating costs are significant, and as a small business, it was important for us to share both the costs and the risk. Licensing allowed us to participate in a major opportunity while maintaining financial discipline and long-term sustainability. We view this deal as an entry point rather than a one-size-fits-all solution. As we continue to grow and gain more experience in airport retail, we may pursue different partnership structures in the future. But for our first airport location, licensing was the right fit because it balanced access, operational support, and risk in a way that allowed us to grow responsibly.

 

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FIFA World Cup Flavors at New York State Restaurants

The FIFA World Cup 2026 kicks off this summer in New York, with Brazil, Morocco, France, Senegal, Norway, Ecuador, Germany, Panama, and England scheduled to play in group stage matches at New York/New Jersey Stadium starting June 13.

www.iloveny.com

. From full English breakfasts to savory Senegalese spots to Michelin-starred French cuisine, discover where you can get a taste of FIFA and immerse yourself in the culture and flavors of the World Cup nations at restaurants across New York State.

Panama​

Head to Brooklyn to experience the borough’s vibrant Panamanian community, where Central American roots have settled and shaped the flavors of Flatbush and Crown Heights. Panama’s culture and cuisine represents a fusion of Latino, West Indian, and African influences. Stop into Pana’s Kitchen, where you can indulge in Panamanian comfort foods like plantains, yuca frita, empanadas, and arroz con pollo. Over at El Jeffe, a Mexican-Panamanian fast-casual fusion spot, everything is made from scratch, from the tortillas to the sangria. Owned and operated by a Panamanian-born, Brooklyn-raised woman, the popular taco spot serves delicious dishes like jerk pork tacos and chicken bowls over black beans and coconut rice.

 

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Toronto Food Reviewer, SauceHaveMercy, has 4 part BHM series for 2026

Spoiler: ep 2

Spoiler: ep 3

Spoiler: ep 4

 

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Raptors Caribbean Night
02/02/26

 

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The Roti Royalty of Queens | Sandwich City | NYT Cooking​

NYT Cooking​

Mar 7, 2026
On any given day, loyal customers pack this no-frills shop in the South Ozone Park neighborhood of Queens for Trinidadian specialities. Opened in 2005, Trinciti Roti Shop is known for doubles, roti wraps, sandwiches, curries, oxtail and more

 

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03/09/26
BIG's daughter

 

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Curried Lobster and Philly Cheesesteaks: Talking to Bruce Springsteen's Personal Chef

Talking to chef Andre Fowles, Bruce Springsteen's personal chef, about cooking for Springsteen and his new Jamaican cookbook.

www.rollingstone.com

03/16/26

 

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The Top 10 US Restaurants, According to the Experts​

04/08/26

The best restaurants in America right now aren't just serving memorable meals; they're telling personal stories. The top 10 for Food & Wine's 2026 Global Tastemakers Awards channels a wide map of influences, from Guadalajara and Jamaica to southern Thailand and South India, filtered through the ingredients and energy of their home cities. Some occupy Michelin-starred dining rooms; others buzz with the energy of a joyful neighborhood hang, but all of them share a common thread — chefs cooking with conviction and celebrating their roots while pushing American dining forward. From coast to coast, these are the restaurants worth traveling for.

01 of 10

Winner: Kabawa (New York City)​

A spread including the Puerto Rican pork shop at Kabawa in NYC.

Photo by Andrew Bezek

Chef Paul Carmichael celebrates his Caribbean heritage in New York's East Village, where the former Momofuku Ko space now houses Kabawa, a collaboration with the Momofuku group. Opened in March 2025, the restaurant centers on counter seating around an open kitchen, turning out dishes that pull from across the Caribbean, like electric red pepper shrimp, breadfruit toston, and jerk duck sausage. The three-course prix fixe, with several choices offered for each course, is ideally experienced with a group to taste the full range; at the end of the night, the neighboring Bar Kabawa makes a strong case for one more patty and daiquiri.





03 of 10

Canje (Austin, Texas)​

Jerk chicken at Canje.

Courtesy of Canje

Bold spice and unapologetic heat define Canje, where Caribbean cooking takes center stage in East Austin. 2020 F&W Best New Chef Tavel Bristol-Joseph — a 2025 James Beard Outstanding Chef semifinalist — draws from his Guyanese heritage and across the islands, turning out pepper fish fragrant with aromatics, rich West Indian curry, and dark, slow-cooked pepperpot built on cassareep (a thick, cassava root syrup that’s a staple in Guyanese cuisine.) The cocktail program matches that intensity with signature drinks like the Curry Wata, made with curry gin, mango-apple chutney, and citrus, and frozen riffs that cut right through the heat.





04 of 10

Dogon (Washington D.C.)​

Hoe Crab at Dogon.

Photo by Scott Suchman

2019 F&W Best New Chef Kwame Onwuachi made his long-awaited return to Washington, D.C. in 2024 with Dōgon, an Afro-Caribbean dining room inside the Salamander hotel built on big flavors and stories. Named for the West African Dogon tribe and inspired by Benjamin Banneker — the Black astronomer-surveyor who mapped the District’s original boundary in the 18th century — the restaurant weaves local history with Onwuachi's Nigerian, Jamaican, Trinidadian, and Creole roots. The signature hoe crab with aji verde is a must, as are mains like Mom Dukes Shrimp and berbere roasted chicken paired with jollof rice. Since opening, the restaurant has earned a slew of accolades, including TIME World’s Greatest Places 2025.





09 of 10

Kann (Portland, Oregon)​

Photo by Steve Freihon

Portland’s hottest table is also one of its most personal. At Kann, three-time James Beard Award-winning chef Gregory Gourdet cooks a live-fire love letter to Haiti, weaving Scotch bonnet heat, epis aromatics, and abundant spice into the Pacific Northwest’s seasonal bounty. The family-style parade of dishes are meant for sharing, from warm plantain brioche buns with plant-based epis butter and smoked shrimp curry with pickled green tomatoes to impeccably charred seafood and meats. The room hums with energy and the experience feels celebratory from start to finish